Apparatus for making structural shapes



May 31, 1949. I D. 1.. MERCER APPARATUS FOR MAKING STRUCTURAL SHAPES 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 10, 1945 D. L. MERCER APPARATUS FOR MAKINGSTRUCTURAL SHAPES May 31, 1949.

5 Sheets-Sheei 2 Filed Aug 10, 1945 l l I I N \m M5 w L Q M? May 31,1949. MERCER 2,471,490

APPARATUS FOR MAKING STRUCTURAL SHAPES Filed Aug. 10, 1945 5Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

DAV/0 1 M56652,

May 1949- D. L. MERCER 2,471,490

APPARATUS FOR MAKING STRUCTURAL SHAPES Filed Aug. 10, 1945 5Sheets-Sheet 4 '7 A1 A1 A? 4 22 5 g A u hull/III III] INVENTORJ y 1949-D. L. MERCE R APPARATUS FOR MAKING STRUCTURAL SHAPES Filed Aug. 10, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

flay/0 A. M09659,

BY. Q g

Patented May 31, 1949 APPARATUS FDR SHAP MAKING STRUCTURAL David-L.-Mercer, Gary, 1nd,, assign or to Carnegie- Illinois SteelCorporatiqn, a corporat on of New Jersey Application August 10, 194:5,SerialNo. 699,987

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to apparatus for cold forming steel plate orstrips and the like into structural shapes and more particularly toapparatus which will form channels, angles, and Zs.

Various apparatus comprising a series of roll stands for cold formingsteel plate or strips into structural shapes has heretofore beenproposed. However, such prior art apparatus has been limited on its useas diiierent sets of rolls have been required to form different shapes,and the design thereof was such that an undue amount of time wasrequired to adjust the apparatus to accommodate plates of strips ofdifferent gauge and to change the apparatus to form different shapes orsections. Such apparatus was also subject to rapid wear because ofslippage between the forming members and the strip, which slippage alsoresulted in undesirable marking of the product while being formed.

It is accordingly amongst the objects ofthe present invention to provideapparatus which is simple in design, economical to operate and which hasincreased roll life together with improved surface finish on the formedproduct.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide formingapparatus which can by simple adjustments be adapted to for n channels,angles or Zs with the same rolls.

The foregoing and further objects will be apparent from the followingspecification and drawings wherein:

Figure l is a schematic showing of a cold forming mill of the type towhich my invention is applicable;

' Fig'ure 2 is a front elevation of a preliminary bending stand forchannels;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of a preliminary bending stand for angles;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of preliminary bending stand for Zs.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of forming stand for channels Figure 6 isa front elevation of forming stand for angles;

Figure 7 is a front elevation of forming stand for Zs;

Figure 8 is a side view of Figure 7 showing the idler roll mounting;

Figure 9 is a development of the formation of angles;

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9 but showi th deve men f an e andFigure 11 is a view similar to Figures 9 and 10 bu shawingth e elopm ofi zne ts R f rin more p ti u to the d awin s, the numera d si at a seris of clo ly di pos and 19 51 11.. f na l a i ned r 1 st ndsrccm- Pos d fop ositel di po d, rtica housin members 4 mounted on a suitablefoundation 6. Pteciprocably mounted between each pair of housing members4 are two bearing blocks 3 which are vertically adjustable byconventional screwdowns iii and separating screws 12. Suitably journaled in the bearing blocks 8 and extending between blocks in theoppositely disposed housin members are power drivenroll shafts i4.

In the arrangement shown, the first three stands as shown in Figures 2,3 and 4 are preliminary bending in which the passes and roll members areformed as follows. The roll shafts M have-shoulders i6 adjacentthe-inner side of one of the housings and are provided with screw-th1eaded jam nuts 53 adjacent the inner face of the opposite housing. Theroll members are formed of roll segments A having a work contacting faceA1, which is parallel to the axis of rotation and an obliquely disposedwork contasting face A2, which diverges toward theroll .shaft, thecontained angle between the two faces being anpobtuse angle, rollsegments B which have an oblique work contacting face which iscomplementary to the angle of face A2 and segments which have a workcontacting face .61, which is ar llel to the axis of rotation, The rollsegrnents are properly spaced by spacers D, the outer diameter of whichis sli htly less than that .of segments Q and faces A1 of segments A.These ro ssexnhlieser positioned intermediate th shoulde s 5 and Jamnuts i 8 b Ur bape spacer tor Late a ad u me of t assembly ma be s cureb l-shaped h m E Bell se A .3 and G and ace s I) nd E are refabl to edto h sha t in u e o a ion with n at by he numera v20,

A Prelimi ary e d n as mb y fo or-mine channels is s own i Figure 2-This om r se twc aqh o gme a C onthe lowe shaf an twqsegments A n t enne shaft I th as We les in t e-fo in ass m lies, it is o courseunderstood that the relative-positions of the se ment co ld be reversed,t a i th seements' the lower haf oul b on the up e th nand e versa. Anemb for nreliminary bending of an es is shown Figuri- T s s milar t the.orego n exc p thatth r g ih ndsgm n B has e n emo ci f om th lo ershafIn i ur h re is h wn. aintly for nrel minarr rmins o Zs This is sim arto the assemb y-fo fo ming "channels cept that the right hand segments Band C have been moved to the upper shaft in place of the upper righthand segment A which has been moved to the lower shaft.

It is apparent from the foregoing figures that there is a difference inspeed relationship in such assemblies between faces A1 and C, A2 and B.That is to say, since each segment rotates at the same speed the obliquefaces will have a different surface speed than the faces which areparallel to the axis of rotation. This must be compensated for byrelative slippage between the work contacting faces and the workpiecewhich causes increased wear of the work contacting faces and marking ofthe workpiece. However, this is not sufficient to be appreciable so longas the angle (12, that is the angle formed by faces A2 and B withrespect to the axis of rotation, is not over about 50. In thearrangement shown, the first three stands are assembled in the foregoingmanner with the angle e increased somewhat in each stand. The number ofstands and passes required for such preliminary bending and completeforming will vary dependent on the gauge and material being formed.

Due to the foregoing effect of the change in relative speed relationshipas the angle increases, a different assembly is used for the remainderof the forming stands as shown in Figure 5. These are generally similarto the preliminary bending stands in that roll segments A and spacers Dand E are used. No segments B and C are used since each of theassemblies has two pairs of the A segments. Faces A cooperate withopposing faces A1 to act as pinch rolls and feed the workpiece forwardlyand idler rollers H are selectively positioned against the upper orlower faces A2 in accordance with the shape desired. The faces of therollers H are normal to the faces A2 with which they cooperate.

A preferred manner of positioning the rollers H is shown in Figures 5,6, '7 and 8. Two channel bars 22 are bolted as at 24, or otherwisesecured, to adjacent housings 4 and extend across thewidth of the rollstands. The channel bars have their flat faces in opposed relationshipand have T- shaped slots 26 opening into the flat faces adjacent eachcorner. Brackets 28 composed of two pairs of V-shaped legs 3t connectedat the open end by bars 32 are carried by the channel bars 22 by bolts36, the heads of which are slidably contained in the slots 26 adjacenteach side of a stand. Thus, the V-shaped legs straddle a roll shaft 14and the idler roller H rotatably mounted thereon adjacent the closed endof the legs is thereby properly positioned to cooperate with theadjacent face A2. Further adjustment and provision for thrust isobtained by screws 34 extending through housing members 4 intoengagement with the brackets 28. The brackets and rollers H are sodesigned that they may be mounted on either the upper or the lowerchannel bars 22. When mounted on the upper channel bar, the roller Hcooperates with the lower roll face A2, and when mounted on the lowerchannel bar, the roller H is placed in cooperative relationship with theface A2 of the upper roll segment. Thus it is seen that by merelychanging the location of the rollers H or removing them, a changeinshape is effected. Figure 5 shows both rollers mounted on the lower barsto adjust the rolls for forming channels. Figure 6 shows the standassembled with only one roller to form angles and Figure '7 is similarto Figure 5 except that the right hand 4 roller has been moved to theupper bar to adapt the stand to form Zs.

From the foregoing, it is seen that I have provided apparatus forforming structural shapes which is simple in design, easy to adjust forvarious sizes and which permits the same rolls to be used for formingchannels, angles, or Zs by merely changing the position of an idler rollin each stand.

While I have shown and described one specific embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for thepurpose of illustration and description and that various other forms maybe devised within the scope of my invention, as defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a pair of forming rolls having shafts journaledin a pair of housings, at least one of which is power driven, said rollshaving cooperative work engaging faces constructed and arranged toadvance a workpiece and oppositely disposed diverging oblique faces ateach end of each of said rolls, each of said faces divergin towards itsrespective shaft to form a V-shaped opening therebetween and idler rollsmounted intermediate said shafts adapted to cooperate with said obliquefaces to form a workpiece as it is advanced by said work engaging facesand means for mounting said last named rolls to selectively place themin cooperative relationship with the oblique face of either the upper orlower forming rolls to bend the outer flange portion of a workpieceupwardly or downwardly to form angles, channels or Zs as desired.

2. A roll stand comprising a pair of housings, a pair of roll shaftsjournaled in said housings and extending therebetween, a pair of rollsegments mounted on each of said shafts and aligned with the segments onthe other shaft, each of said segments having a face portion which. isparallel to the face portion of the oppositely disposed segment on theother shaft and an oblique end face which extends toward its respectiveshaft oppositely disposed to the oblique face of the opposing segment,said oblique faces diverging to form a V-shaped opening between theouter ends of the oppositely disposed roll segments, an idler rolldisposed at either end of said pair of segments with a working facesubstantially normal to one of said oblique faces and means for mountingsaid idler rolls intermediate said roll shafts to cooperate with eitherthe oblique face of the upper or lower roll segment to bend the outerflange portion of a workpiece upwardly or downwardly to form angles,channels or Zs as desired.

3. A roll stand comprising a pair of housings, a pair of roll shaftsjournaled in said housings and extendin therebetween, a pair of rollsegments mounted on each of said shafts and aligned with the segments onthe other shaft, each of said segments having a face portion which isparallel to the face portion of the oppositely disposed segment on theother shaft and an oblique end face which extends toward its respectiveshaft oppositely disposed to the oblique face of the opposing segment,said oblique faces diversing to form a V-shaped opening between theouter ends of the oppositely disposed roll segments, an idler rolldisposed at either end of said pair of segments with a working facesubstantially normal to one of said oblique faces and means for mountinsaid idler rolls intermediate said roll shafts to cooperate with eitherthe oblique face of the upper or lower roll segment to bend the outerflange portion of a workpiece upwardly or downwardly to form angles,channels or Zs as desired, said last named means comprising a pair ofoppositely disposed bars mounted on each side of said housings andextendin therebetween and a bracket carrying said idler roll adapted tobe mounted on the two upper channel bars or the two lower channel bars.

4. Apparatus for forming metal stock comprising a plurality of alignedroll stands, each of said stands comprising a pair of housings, a pairof roll shafts journaled in said housings and extendin therebetween, apair of roll segments mounted on each of said shafts and aligned withthe segments on the other shaft, each of said segments having a faceportion which is parallel to the face portion of the oppositely disposedse ment on the other shaft and an oblique face portion defining aV-shaped opening between the outer ends of the oppositely disposed rollsegments, an idler roll disposed at either end of said pair of segmentswith ,a working face substantially normal to one of said oblique facesand means for mounting said idler rolls to cooperate with either theoblique face of the upper or lower roll segment to bend the outer flangeportion of a workpiece upwardly or downwardly as desired,

6 said last named means comprising a pair of oppositely disposed channelbars extending between the opposing faces of adjacent roll stands andconnected thereto and a V-shaped bracket carrying said idler rolladapted to straddle a roll shaft adjustably mounted on the upper orlower channel bars connected to the opposite sides of the housing inwhich said shaft is mounted.

DAVID L. MERCER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 592,767 Einfeldt Nov. 2, 1897709,753 Ditchfield Sept. 23, 1902 709,754 Ditchfield Sept. '23, 19021,414,340 Crowe May 2, 1922 1,615,984 Killion Feb. 1, 1927 1,733,199Meyers Oct. 29, 1929 2,251,967 Yoder Aug. 12, 1941 2,364,734 McGlone etal Dec. 12, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 12,204 GreatBritain Oct. 13, 1885

